Out of 12 local streets, Quinpool won a contest sponsored by Benjamin Moore paint company and worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to businesses on the street.

It’ll be a bonanza of facade improvements, said Karla Nicholson, general manager of the Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association.

“It’s paint, it’s woodwork, it’s metal, it’s pressure-washing,” she said. “It’s amazing. I just can’t even believe what it is.”

The work will happen on a three-block stretch, and those blocks haven’t been decided yet, said Nicholson.

The Paint What Matters contest was open to cities and towns across Canada and the United States.

Haligonians have been pushing, since the contest was announced in May, to first get on a short list of winning cities and then to decide which street will get the prize.

According to Benjamin Moore, the company “will not only provide the paint and supplies needed for facades, porches, railings, shutters and other exterior building trims, but its colour experts will consult on the best choices to enhance the architectural style, regional influences and historic references in each community.”

A team will fly into Halifax to work with the recipient businesses, Nicholson said. Local professional painters will also be hired and the local Benjamin Moore retailer will be put to work on the project, said the company.

It’s a huge boon to Quinpool businesses, many of which are small, independent companies without the resources for major improvements, said Nicholson.

Each business will have the option to refresh their current design or to pick a new look for their storefront, she said.

The longtime owner of Phil’s Seafood, at Quinpool and Preston Street, said he would “love” to have work done, and he thought the contest could really change the street.

“Because Quinpool is full of older buildings and probably a little less work done on some of them than should be, it’s going to make a big difference,” said Phil Perrin.

“Being a small business, it’s usually a money thing. There’s just never enough money to go around for all the small projects that need to be done.”

Benjamin Moore ended up picking Quinpool Road after hackers wrecked an online voting system set up by the municipality that would have allowed locals to vote on streets.

Coun. Linda Mosher (Armdale-Peninsula West) sits on the Quinpool association and the Spryfield and District Business District, which were competing with each other. Benjamin Moore looked carefully at all the entries, she said, and for her, the best thing was seeing everyone’s support for their neighbourhoods.

“I think it’s really important to thank all the residents,” she said. “There was significant support for all the main streets.”

In the end, since Quinpool is a thoroughfare, improvements will benefit commuters and residents, and it will also be a new face to show tourists on their way from the seaport to Peggys Cove, Mosher said.

Nicholson said the Quinpool Road association put in a lot of work in the first few months getting Halifax on the map in the contest.

Twenty cities across North America were picked to get the improvements after submitting videos to an online campaign where the public could vote.

Mayor Mike Savage rose to the challenge by starring in a video, comparing himself to Brad Pitt, to draw attention to the contest.

“I was so thrilled that our mayor came out and fought for our city,” said Nicholson. “Two weekends in a row, when he did that, Halifax just spiked.”